Central European Region Research Articles

Trade Openness and Sustainable Government Size: Evidence from Central and Eastern European Countries

The ongoing discussion regarding the role of the free market economy and the extent of state intervention is a critical subject in economics. This matter holds special significance for transition economies, as it presents both challenges and opportunities in such contexts. One may perceive the degree of trade openness as a path toward welfare societies. However, the dual impacts of trade openness on an economy, namely, the compensation and efficiency hypotheses, must be considered. The compensation hypothesis proposes that global trade can enhance the economic influence of the state, whereas the efficiency hypothesis advocates for a contraction in the state’s economic undertakings. This study focuses on interpreting this complex scenario, specifically in the context of the European Union’s transition economies. The aim of this research is to uncover how the economic magnitude of a nation influences trade liberalization, and consequently the free market economy, in Central and East European (CCE) countries, using public choice theory as a foundation. The research delves into the causal relationship between trade openness and government size in eleven CCE countries—Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia. The period covered in this study ranges from 1996 to 2021. The methodological tool utilized for this investigation is the Kónya bootstrap Granger causality test, which accommodates cross-sectional dependence and country-specific variances. The novelty of this study lies in its application of both the compensation and efficiency hypotheses to the context of 11 transition economies in the Central and Eastern European (CCE) region. The results from the Granger causality test demonstrate a unidirectional positive correlation between trade openness and the size of the government for Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, and Estonia. On the contrary, Slovenia exhibited a unidirectional negative correlation. These findings confirm the applicability of the compensation hypothesis in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, and Estonia, while supporting the efficiency hypothesis in Slovenia.

체제 전환 이후 폴란드 학계에서 논의된 중유럽 지역 명칭 연구

The region called ‘Eastern Europe’ in Korea lies between three European seas - the Adriatic Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Black Sea. In the Polish academic world, this region was called Central Europe, Central-Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Southern Europe, or several other ways, depending on time and conditions. And each of these names had justification to be called that. In this paper, the authors will focus on the use of the term ‘Central Europe’ and make the argument. Based on the research achievements of the Institute of Political Studies, the Polish Academy of Sciences, the current discourse in Polish academic world is the subject of this thesis. Numerous attempts have been made to define the concept of Central Europe in Polish literature on international relations. In this process, controversy often arose over which countries should be included in the Central European region. In this paper, while developing the thesis on Central European terminology, it was divided into four stages by period. With the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian War in 2022, the concept of ‘Central-Eastern Europe’, which was widely used in Polish academic world, began to lose its reason for existence. In the authors’ opinion, it seems logical to refer to the territory of the Three Seas Initiative as Central Europe. In other words, we conclude that it is reasonable to call Central Europe the group of 12 countries of the Three Seas Initiative, which are members of the European Union.

How do HEIs’ students accept nudging? Expert perspective analysis

The study examines the influence of nudging on the successful studies of Higher education institutions (HEI’s) students. Data from one of the typical countries of the Central European region (Czech Republic) is analyzed. The goal of the research was to find out how students accept individual forms of nudging. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey at Czech HEIs (N = 207) and structured interviews with experts (N = 19) were conducted. This study showed that information nudges and high-touch nudges enjoyed the highest level of acceptance. A strong correlation was also found between “most irritating” and group “manipulative” nudges. These forms of nudging fluctuated around the borderline value of acceptance. A strong or moderate correlation was also found between nudges with similar content and different forms. Structured interviews showed that experts supported the use of nudges. They considered it an important tool to influence the study’s success. Experts explained the differences in the acceptance of nudges in connection with the different ages of students, the type of study, the students’ life experiences, and partly with the type of field of study. They considered parents’ education rather ambivalent.

Cultural Industries and their Applicability in Central and Eastern Europe: An Institutional Critique

This article is motivated by the specific and largely dissatisfactory state of the application of modern conceptions of local and regional development in post-transformation countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The same holds true for cultural industries, which became a buzzword and a sign of socioeco-nomically more successful places and regions. The main objective of this paper is to examine selected issues related to the application of cultural industries in Central and Eastern Europe. Conceptions cha-racterizing cultural industries have been born in advanced countries in the West. Subsequently, their applications consider standard Western economic-institutional milieu that evolved naturally and in the longer run. Nonetheless, history matters and economic-institutional settings in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, for which numerous developmental discontinuities are symptomatic, are far from the Western ones. This raises many question marks on the applicability of cultural industries in specific and still-developing economic-institutional conditions in places and regions in Central and Eastern Eu-rope. The primary perspective adopted in this article is a theoretical one with a wide utilization of qua-litative approaches.

The Impact of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine on the Capital Markets from the CEE Countries

Abstract The price of stocks is a good indication of investors’ expectations for the evolution of capital markets, comprising their fears and hopes regarding future developments. The information regarding a disruptive event such as a military attack spreads rapidly across countries affecting investors’ perceptions and causing them to sell their stocks and target safer investments. The scientific literature on the topic is growing lately due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war and its consequences. The research paper investigates the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the capital markets from the Central and Eastern European region using the event study methodology. The paper studies the abnormal returns recorded by each capital market on the event day (February 24, 2022), as well as the cumulative abnormal returns for 6-day, 11-day and 16-day event windows following the attack. The findings show that most of the capital markets recorded sharp declines on the event-day, reaching a negative abnormal return event of 10% on February 24. For the longer event windows the negative impact persisted through cumulative abnormal returns recorded for most of the markets. The highest declines were recorded on the 6-day and 11-day event windows as all capital markets considered incorporating the bad news of the war outbreak and lost the initial hope of being a disinformation or a short-term military attack. Within 35 trading days following the invasion, 64% of the markets rebounded and returned to their pre-attack level. However, 4 capital markets recorded more than 200 trading days with a level lower than the one registered before the invasion. The paper contributes to literature extending the studies of capital markets’ behavior during military conflicts focusing on neighboring countries.

Společenský význam vícečetných pohřbů v kultuře se šňůrovou keramikou

Although multiple burial contexts are uncommon, they are a typical feature of Corded Ware funerary behaviour. This paper focuses on various aspects of Corded Ware multiple burials in Bohemia and the adjacent regions of Central Europe. Particular attention is given to the occurrence of burials in the antipode position and the age, gender and possible familial relationship of the individuals in such graves. A unique example of multiple burials is the biritual Grave 1/95 in Slaný (Kladno District) in Bohemia, which contained a minimum of seven individuals (men, women and children), four of which were cremated. Despite the exceptional use of the cremation method of burial, the Slaný grave fits the well-defined collective type of Corded Ware burials usually known from Bohemia, such as in Třebusice (Kladno District); Bylany (Kolín District); Chrášťany (Prague-west District). Similar, but not identical collective burials are known from Obrnice (Most District) and Určice (Prostějov District) in Moravia and Święte, site 20 (Grave 43) in Little Poland. Similar examples are also known from Saxony-Anhalt in the case of the Eulau collective burial. It appears these communal burials represent a particular variety of funerary practices (ritual) rather than evidence of a specific event. New archaeogenetic data may shed more light on the questions of whether these burials represent a nuclear family, what can we learn about the familial ties and the meaning of a collective funerary event. Some cases (Eulau) presume the multiple burials as a result of a violent occurrence (conflict or sacrifice) while others may be the result of disease or the special status of particular members of the community.

Evaluation of snow depth from multiple observation-based, reanalysis, and regional climate model datasets over a low-altitude Central European region

This study evaluates snow depth (SD) from several data sources: a combined satellite-based and in situ snow water equivalent product from the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS), a dataset constructed from temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity using a snow model (CARPATCLIM), two state-of-the-art reanalyses by ECMWF (ERA5 and ERA5-Land), and Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate simulations at grid spacings of 50 km and 10 km. SD observations from weather stations are used as a reference for the pointwise comparison. The study area covers the Pannonian Basin region (part of Central and Eastern Europe). Results are presented for the 2006–2010 and 1985–2010 periods. All datasets adequately reproduce the average day-to-day variation of SD but with different error magnitudes. The ERA5 reanalysis and the CGLS product represent SD remarkably well, with correlation coefficients above 0.9 and mean errors close to zero. On the other hand, ERA5-Land and CARPATCLIM overestimate daily mean SD by 2–3 cm for some stations and display lower correlations (0.7–0.9) during the 26-year time span. The WRF simulations significantly overestimate SD in the melting period (February–March). Reduction of the grid spacing from 50 to 10 km does not improve the results. The excessive snow cover might negatively impact land–atmosphere interactions in the model and lead to biases like temperature underestimation found in previous regional climate model evaluation studies. The results indicate that even in regions where snow is not a major climatic factor, SD errors can be substantial and should be considered in model evaluation and adaptation. Over the Carpathian Mountain ranges, SD from the different data sources diverges to the extent that the sign of the monthly mean model bias changes depending on the choice of the reference dataset.

Air Temperature Variability of the Northern Mountains in the Czech Republic

Analysis of a long-term temperature variability of mountains has been neglected for a long time. Here we homogenised and reconstructed four temperature series (1961–2020) of selected mountain stations situated above 1000 m representing the area of northern Moravian mountain ridges (the Czech Republic) and their spatiotemporal variability was examined. A statistically significant increase of 10-year linear trends of annual (0.26–0.38), summer/winter half-year and seasonal mean temperatures were found at most stations. Summer (JJA) was detected as the season with the highest mean temperature increase between 1961–1990 and 1991–2020 normal periods (1.5 °C). From the spatial point of view, the climate conditions were becoming warmer faster in higher elevations compared to the lower ones. At all stations, a statistically significant decrease in ice and frost days was observed (−9.1–19.9 and −9.5–16.3, respectively). Moreover, it was proved that the temperature series of a newly established Vysoká hole station are representative enough and comparable with measurements of other meteorological stations in the studied region. This research provided valuable insight into the temperature variability of mountain ridges and the results completed our sparse knowledge about temperature changes in the mountain regions in Central Europe.

Spatiality in freight transport efficiency

AbstractThe relationship between economic growth and transport sector is an important and popular topic for researchers, but it also has several untapped areas. To ensure continuous economic growth, it is necessary to answer how and to what extent economic sectors contribute to sustainability; what factors or sets of factors can determine freight performance in a country or region; and how it affects the global economy. This study aims to test the presence of spatial dependence. In this research, the authors looked for the spatial relationships between economic activity (GDP) and freight transport performance using spatial econometric models. The results showed that the spatial impact of freight transport performance and GDP significantly influence each other. The intensity calculation shows that the Baltic States have a high intensity in road freight transport, followed by the Central European region. Eastern Europe, including Russia and the Baltics, are prominent players in rail freight. Furthermore, the spatial econometric models have highlighted that a country with high GDP has some sort of "suction" effect on neighbouring countries with lower GDP along with the freight performance. This is especially true for rail freight. In the long run, the outlined results may even support strategic decision-makers in managing the economic impacts of both road and rail freight transport at the regional level.

The role of judges at the pre-mediation stage of court-annexed mediation: A case study of the situation in the Czech Republic

AbstractMediation as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism has a very long history, especially outside of the adjudicative space. It has gradually also found its way as an adjunct to the court system in the form of court-annexed mediation. As proven by quantitative studies, mediation in the region of Central and Eastern Europe is still, however, a relatively novel and underutilized instrument. Thus, this study explores the role of judges in court-annexed mediation using the case of the Czech Republic. It presents a piece of empirical research built on a single qualitative case study of mediation practice as seen and understood through the experience of district court judges. The latter represent the core actors that contribute to shaping mediation practice through their attitudes and activities, influenced by their own interpretation of phenomena, when entering into the process at the pre-mediation phase – when the activity of the judge is foreseen by the legislative framework to be the most significant. Offering a comprehensive description of the research methodology, the study also aims to contribute to academic debate that calls for more case/comparative studies of relatively unexplored phenomena in the wider region of Central and Eastern Europe.

Spatial factors affecting the functional diversity of regenerated brownfields: The case of Silesian Voivodeship (Poland)

Abstract Until 1990, the Silesian Voivodeship was one of the most industrialised regions in Central Europe. The restructuring of the national economy after the change of the political system, in particular the extensive deindustrialisation, resulted in the emergence of substantial quantity of post-industrial brownfields. During the research we identified a total of 125 post-industrial brownfield sites that had undergone a regeneration process between 1990 and 2019. The total value of these regeneration projects was estimated at over EUR 1.7 billion. About 55% of the projects were carried out by public bodies, 40% by private enterprises and 5% by non-governmental organisations. The EU aid from structural funds was used in 37% of projects. The aim of the paper is to provide new empirical evidence about the role of spatial factors on the regeneration and new functional use of the brownfields. The analysis has revealed that there is a statistically significant relationship between the distance from the city centre and the functions of regenerated brownfield sites: commercial services were located closest to the centre, whereas manufacturing plants and investment zones were found at the greatest distance from the city centre. The research has also shown the crucial role of post-industrial heritage for projects related to redevelopment for public services, which was insignificant for other project types. These results have been interpreted in the context of the rent gap theory and the brownfield redevelopment potential model (the so-called ABC model).

Comparing the Innovation and Export Performance of Hungarian Family and Non-Family Enterprises: Experiences Drawn from Empirical Surveys

Family enterprises are considered to be one of the oldest and still dominant forms of business organisations. However, their innovation activity is an emerging area of research, especially in the Central and Eastern European region. The aim of our study is to address this research gap by investigating, with the help of statistical tools, the relationship between the familiness of the firms, their innovation activity, and their export activity on representative samples of Hungarian SMEs in the years 2017, 2020, and 2022. Our results suggest that the innovation activity of exporting Hungarian SMEs is more significant than that of non-exporting SMEs. However, the relationship between familiness and innovation activity is not uniform in the three analyzed years, and the relationship between familiness and export activity is not significant. The findings of this study, that firms’ innovation and exporting activities can be mutually reinforcing, can be used by policymakers, curriculum developers in business education, and entrepreneurs. One of the main limitations of our research is that the 2020 and 2022 surveys were conducted after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shock of the Russian–Ukrainian war, respectively; thus, the decisions of the firms could have been influenced by the unpredictability of the external environment.

Raluca Bianca Roman, Sofiya Zahova, and Aleksandar G. Marinov, eds. Roma Writings. Romani Literature and Press in Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe from the 19th Century until World War II

Raluca Bianca Roman, Sofiya Zahova, and Aleksandar G. Marinov, eds. <i>Roma Writings. Romani Literature and Press in Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe from the 19th Century until World War II</i>

Dactylorhiza maculata agg. (Orchidaceae) in Central Europe: Intricate Patterns in Morphological Variability, Cytotype Diversity and Ecology Support the Single-Species Concept

Effective protection of endangered species is often limited by taxonomic discrepancies across state borders. This is also the case of the Dactylorhiza maculata agg. in Central Europe, where one to three species and several infraspecific taxa are recognized in various countries. Based on an extensive analysis of morphological variation, ploidy levels, environmental traits and habitats of 64 populations in Central Europe and adjacent regions, we aimed to propose a unified taxonomic concept applicable throughout the study area. Multivariate analysis of morphological traits revealed continuous variation at the individual level and only minor differences between particular clusters of populations. Four DNA-ploidy levels were detected using flow cytometry. Diploids (2n = 40) and tetraploids (2n = 80) were the most abundant and usually formed single-cytotype populations whereas DNA-triploids and DNA-hexaploids occurred only sporadically as minority cytotypes. The inferred patterns of morphological and ploidy variation were not congruent with traditional taxonomic treatment regarding diploid D. fuchsii and tetraploid D. maculata as two species with several infraspecific taxa. Instead, all taxa analysed in the current study are best treated at the subspecies level within D. maculata s. lat. due to somewhat continuous morphological variation between morphotypes. A total of eight D. maculata subspecies may be recognized in Central Europe, of which one is newly described here as D. maculata subsp. arcana, subsp. nov. Some nomenclatural riddles have been resolved, and the threat status of the recognized taxa is discussed.

Implementation of smart city solutions from the perspective of the population in Slovakia

In the past decade, the topic of Smart City is indisputably one of the most important concepts in the development of cities and urban regions in Central and Eastern Europe, their management and planning, while innovations and innovation potential are becoming a prerequisite for functioning connections and processes within integrated local (or geographical) functional areas. The Slovak Republic is gradual, despite the difficult beginnings without system coordination, declaring an effort to implement the Smart City policy within the existing residential structure of cities and municipalities. Relying on the Action Plan for Smart Cities and Regions 2023-2025 as well as the Slovakia Program 2021- 2027, at the same time the results of world studies and analyzes carried out in the conditions of the Slovak environment (while we start from the findings and follow up on the study by Kóňa et al. 2022), the authors identify in their research as the main problem the fact that the attention of the state, professional public, as well as local authorities, is aimed at supporting the creation of Functional Urban Areas in the geographical structure of individual regions with the aim of supporting the development of six defined areas, the so-called „domains”, which ultimately brings about an increase in the quality of life of the population of these regions. However, given domains are ambiguous in terms of content, this variability is also reflected in the inability of participating parties to perceive their content. As part of the research, respondents were asked about six areas of smart city policy implementation, the aim of the research was to identify the content perception by the respondents according to the weight they assign to individual areas and subsequently define within individual domains the elements/characteristics perceived by the population as key to the growth of the quality of their lives in cities and regions.

Chapter 13: TBE as a matter of public health

The incidence of TBE ranges from ‘only single sporadic cases’ to &gt;50/105 per year depending on the region and on the year of analysis; it is usually 1-10/105 in endemic regions in central Europe. This number may be considered as ‘low’ – not only as an individual risk but also from a public health perspective. If an individual does contract TBE, however, the disease may deeply change her/his life due to the need for acute hospital care and due to potentially severe and long-term sequelae. In 1–2% (-20%) of cases, TBE may even result in death. No specific treatments exist for TBE. The severity of the disease and high frequency of long-term sequelae result in high public awareness and concerns about tick bites in endemic areas. Public health officials in TBE-endemic areas need to address these concerns; moreover, they need to address the concerns of travelers at risk. The principal public health measures aim at reducing TBE cases by reduction of exposure and preventive vaccination. Recommendation/reimbursement of TBE vaccination still is under discussion from side of healthcare payer perspective as well as from the individuals perspective considering long term sequelae.

Europeanisation and Its Impact on Candidate Countries for EU Membership: A View from Ukraine

Background: The nature of the European Union (EU) as a global actor has long been the subject of diverse academic debates. Proponents of an understanding of the EU as a normative force believe that its greatest transformative power lies not in coercion but in a policy of enlargement that allows the EU to stimulate reforms in the candidate countries of the Central and Eastern European region, despite the crisis of enlargement. The aim of the article is to study the impact of the Europeanisation process on the legal systems of member states and candidate countries, in particular Ukraine, as well as the formulation of proposals for national institutions regarding the perception of the ‘Europeanisation’ impact of EU law on the legal system of Ukraine. Methods: The methodological basis of the work is interdisciplinary and comprehensive approaches. The interdisciplinary approach is based on the application of theoretical developments in jurisprudence, philosophy, political science, and the theory of international relations, which make it possible to study the process of Europeanisation in relation to member states and candidate countries as fully and comprehensively as possible. The comprehensive approach is aimed at identifying the multifaceted and multifactorial ontological determinants of the Europeanisation process of legal systems. These approaches determined the choice of appropriate general theoretical and special scientific methods: hermeneutic, dialectical, analysis, synthesis, etc. Results and Conclusions: As a result of the study of the political will, capacity, and legitimacy of the EU to defend the values proclaimed in the founding treaties, in cases of violations of the regulations of the EU law by the member states, the authors come to the conclusion that the EU may face negative consequences due to the display of democratic reformist coalitions in individual member states (Poland and Hungary ), as well as due to favouring (authoritarian) stability over uncertain (democratic) change. Concession to candidate countries for EU accession in terms of the fulfilment of the Copenhagen criteria in exchange for satisfying the interests of leading member states may undermine the credibility of the project of building a European identity based on the common values of the EU, as well as the loss of the reputation of the normative power of the European Union. Accelerating the process of Ukraine’s accession to the EU, which is connected with Ukraine’s acquisition of the status of a candidate for accession to the EU, requires the Europeanisation of the domestic legal culture as a prerequisite for the modernisation of all other elements of the legal system. This, in turn, implies the completion of the process of de-Russification of legal science and education, the development and approval of the Legal Education Development Program, and the modernisation of legal terminology.

Occurrence of Biogenic Amines in Wines from the Central European Region (Zone B) and Evaluation of Their Safety.

The decarboxylation of the corresponding amino acids by microorganisms leads to the formation of biogenic amines (BAs). From a toxicological point of view, BAs can cause undesirable physiological effects in sensitive individuals, particularly if their metabolism is blocked or genetically altered. The current study aimed to monitor and evaluate the content of eight biogenic amines (BAs) in 232 samples of wines (white, rosé, red) produced in the Central European region (Zone B). White wines (180 samples), rosé wines (17 samples), and red wines (35 samples) were analyzed. High-performance liquid chromatography equipped with a ultraviolet-visible diode array detector (UV/VIS DAD) was applied to identify and quantify the BAs present in wines. In general, histamine (HIS), tyramine (TYM), putrescine (PUT), cadaverine (CAD), phenylethylamine (PEA), spermine (SPN) and spermidine (SPD) were detected in all tested wine samples. Tryptamine (TRM) was not present in any of the samples examined. In white and red wines, SPD, TYM, and PUT were most often detected. Regarding rosé wines, the three major BAs were SPN, TYM, and CAD. The BA content in red wines was generally higher than in rosé and white wines. However, HIS concentrations above the recommended limit of 10 mg/L were detected in 9% of the red wine samples. In addition, alarming levels of PUT, HIS, TYM, and PEA, with serious potential impact on consumer health, were recorded in two red wine samples. On the whole, the presence and concentrations of BAs in wine should be constantly evaluated, primarily because alcohol intensifies the hazardous effects of BAs.

Making new ‘Solidarities’

This article returns to sociological investigation of the intriguing phenomenon of the Solidarity social movement. Contrary to a popular position which sees Solidarity as important but closed chapter in Polish history, we argue that its legacy, in contrast to other historic events such as Prague’s spring and Hungarian uprising, should be seen as an ongoing social process in Poland and in the broader region of Eastern and Central Europe. In order to lay out our argument we describe Polish intelligentsia members’ practices aimed at the reproduction and strengthening of the legacy of Solidarity – an important tool which legitimizes intelligentsia’s dominant position in the post-communist Poland. In the empirical part we are particularly interested in analysis of efforts aimed at strengthening the legacy of Solidarity by universalizing it at the transnational level, which we analyzed on the case study of interaction between members of the Polish and Ukrainian elites.

The effects of cultural networks on migration among Early and High Medieval populations in Central Europe based on dental phenotypic data

AbstractThroughout the region of Central Europe, population movements have transcended political boundaries throughout history. The Early (6th to 11th centuries AD) and High (11th to 14th centuries AD) Medieval periods were times of constantly shifting cultural relationships, as well as climatic fluctuations. Limited archeological and historic records for the region often focus on the broader cultural processes of the time, and to a large degree, on elites. Very little work has focused on population movement, particularly across cultural boundaries. Here we examine the potential effects of cultural processes on the movement and subsequent genetic exchange among the people throughout the region. We compare biological, cultural, geographic, and temporal relationships using biological distance analysis and model matrix comparison. To examine population structures, we combine dental morphological and metric data derived from human skeletal remains representing Early and High Medieval groups. Our results support the important influence of cultural processes on migration and population structures among Early and High Medieval groups. Distances based on the cultural complexity model we employ here is significantly correlated with biological distances (p = 0.028), while temporal period (p = 0.099), geographic proximity (p = 0.104), and shared origin (p = 0.193) models are not significant. Although our model is limited in the complex breadth of cultural processes during the Early and High Medieval period, we assert that these processes played an important role in population movement. Finally, we support an inter‐regional approach to examining population interactions among Central European and neighboring areas.